Christmas cottages with fun & games attached…

If you’re spending Christmas away from home, something that really adds to the fun is playing games with friends and family. We’ve a number of holiday cottages ideal for this, some featuring converted barns full of dartboards, table tennis tables and board games a-plenty, and some with indoor swimming pools too!

Woolley Cottage, in the Devon hamlet of Woolley, is a handsome Grade II listed, detached, thatched house which has been extended from its 18th century beginnings, making it big and roomy. The beamed living room with flagstone floor and big inglenook with oil-fired Aga makes an extremely cosy room, or upstairs is a gallery-cum-den with day bed and board/card games. The separate games shed has a table-tennis table, dartboard and assorted toys. For those keen to get active and brave the December elements, there’s also an outhouse with plenty of room for bicycles and surfboards. This is a smashing house with bags of space for everyone in a beautiful, unspoilt area.

Orchard Cottage in Stoke, close to the spectacular cliffs at Hartland Quay, north Devon, is a detached, thatched, Grade II listed 16th century house with courtyard, enclosed garden and indoor heated swimming pool. Formerly owned by the Abbey, the house has been beautifully converted and lovingly restored, with a comfortable, beamed living/dining room. Gather round the inglenook fireplace and plot your next family tournament to be played out in the separate games room with table tennis, pool and darts on offer.

Hound Tor Lodge is situated within the stunning grounds of Bovey Castle on Dartmoor (one of six luxury self-catering lodges we offer here), built in 1907 and now a renowned hotel. Many of the hotel facilities are yours to enjoy (some restrictions apply during the festive period) including indoor pool, gym, steam room, sauna, spa and its championship 18 hole golf course. Other optional activities include archery, rifle shooting, fly fishing, falconry, riding and clay pigeon shooting. If you’d rather something a little quieter, there’s the small matter of a 400 acre estate on which you are free to roam (wellies provided).

Why not browse all our cottages with availability for Christmas and filter the search results by games room and indoor pool? 

Panto season – oh yes it is!

A principal boy played by a woman, a dame played by a man, chants of “He’s behind you!”, two men in a horse costume, a good fairy, an evil villain, and the obligatory guest celebrity – it can only mean one thing, the panto season is upon us again!

A wide variety of performances can be enjoyed in the West Country this year – here are a few notables, with places to stay for each:

In Truro, the Good Fairy's best magic is tested to the extreme in Sleeping Beauty at the Hall for Cornwall. With a little help from the audience, we think she’ll prevail. A peaceful nap awaits at Nansavallan Farmhouse.

TV's Sandra Dickinson takes the lead in Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (pictured) at the Exeter Corn Exchange. Off to Swallow Barn Cottage you go.

At the Theatre Royal in Plymouth, squeaky-voiced comedian Joe Pasquale stars as Muddles in another production of Sleeping Beauty – or should that be ‘Squeaking Beauty’… Admire the ever-changing scenes at Riverside.

Dick Whittington is the choice at Exmouth Pavillion, with a ‘daring, thigh-slapping adventure’ guaranteed. It’s the cat’s whiskers at The Quay. 

The good folk at the Flavel Theatre in Dartmouth will perform Cinderella – the popular tale of a pretty young girl who lived with her father, stepmother and ugly stepsisters. Will she find her glass slipper – and her Prince? Have a ball at Oak Tree.

Celebrity spotters might be interested in another performance of Cinderella, at the Playhouse in Weston Super Mare, starring Coronation Street's Sean Wilson, Eternal's Kelle Bryan and A Touch of Frost's John Lyons. Back to Glebe Cottage before midnight!

And last but not least, another performance of Cinderella at the Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth, stars Carry On and Corrie star Amanda Barrie, Last of the Summer Wine’s Tom Owen and Chris Jarvis from CBeebies.  Don’t lose your slippers at Poppy Cottage (pictured above). 

Interview with Gorgs Geikie – Part 2

Helpful Holidays has been sponsoring the British number one Lady Pistol Shooter Georgina ‘Gorgs’ Geikie for the past year – here’s part two of our interview with this young Olympic hopeful.

We were interested to get an insight into Gorgs’ training regime: “I do 3 or 4 hours a day of fitness training, which could be a mixture of working out in the gym, running and even horseriding. I shoot for 1.5 hours per day. But there’s a lot more to it than that – shooting is 95% psychology. You have to train your body and mind to react under pressure exactly as you want them to – to simply fire a shot. To do that you have to be completely in the moment, keep it as simple as possible. That’s not as easy as it sounds – when the pressure’s on, and noise is all around, absolute clarity and concentration is so important.”

After winning a bronze medal in Delhi, Gorgs’ sights are understandably firmly set on our home Olympics in 2012. “If I could win one tournament it would be the London 2012 Olympics. First I need to qualify for the GBR Team in order to be able to compete in World Cup competitions next year. Qualifying for the Olympics will be really hard - final selections are made at the start of 2012 and there’s only space for one from my event. But I can do it – and what’s more, I can win gold.”

Gorgs’ task has been made tougher with the news that funding has been reduced, meaning she has to rely heavily on sponsors to pay for her travel and training costs. “Sponsorship enables me to continue training and competing nationally and internationally. The first event next year is in Australia, so costs for that are quite high. All help is really gratefully received – without it I wouldn’t be able to continue competing.”

Helpful Holidays has been proud to be a sponsor of such an exciting and dedicated young talent – we wish Gorgs the very best for 2011 – and of course 2012!

Find out more about Gorgs by visiting her website: http://www.gorgs4gold.com. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Classic Exmoor cottage is an October hit!

What a welcome addition to the Helpful Holidays portfolio! This classic cottage is three miles west of Minehead - Exmoor's seaside resort - and set in 150 acres of mixed-leaf woodland. It's easy to understand why the bookings are flowing in. Recently renovated, the cottage is comfortable, light and contemporary with long views from all rooms across the valley to fields and heather moorland. A unique place to stay...enjoy peaceful solitude and cosy hours in front of the open fire, or explore the beautiful moorland and coastline right on your doorstep. Sleeps 5, from £296 per week.

More properties than ever before for 2010

Wonderful to see a significant number of new properties in Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks as well as Devon’s South Hams in our 2010 brochure. We now offer over 600 places to stay in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset and Hampshire sleeping from two to 37 guests. Something for everyone! And it's simple to find your perfect getaway with our advanced search facility.

Amongst our new additions is ultra-modern O’Sullivan House (pictured) - an award winning, architect-designed property for ten, which forms part of the estuary sea wall in the popular sailing resort of Salcombe. Passing river-life and ever-changing seascapes can be watched from two terraces and a balcony over the water, while below the house is a small sunny lawn and two boat moorings. Inside enormous windows along three sides and a glass-floored area give an ‘on-the-water’ feel and unrivalled 180 degree views up and down stream. Truly a spectacular setting at any time of year to relax and unwind.